They put the Halloween candy right by the cashier lines, and I was starting to get looks as I filled up my cart. I just kept piling on the bags of Kirkland funhouse mix and chocolate mix until the well of the cart was full, and then I started a new pile on the shelf below.
By the time I wheeled it to a cashier, I wasn’t only getting looks, I was getting comments (“I’m coming to your house for Halloween!”) I laughed it off and explained it was all for church.
As Director of Children and Family Ministry, I’m responsible for hosting our Trunk-or-Treat event. We ask our congregants to volunteer to decorate the trunk of their car, and we offer to provide the candy.
Several hundred dollars later, I was double-parked in front of my church, contemplating how best to get 260 pounds of candy upstairs to my office on a day when most of my colleagues were working from home. Here’s how: I loaded up two giant Costco reusable bags with 42 pounds of candy in my arms and walked upstairs to my office.
Seven times.
You can just imagine the huffing and puffing and sweating I did. (Is this what it means to love God with all my strength, I wondered?) As I stood beside the mountain of sugar in my office, I had a niggling thought:
Will this be enough?
What if more people come than expected? What if we run out before the event is over? What if, what if, what if?
Our default is to operate from a place of scarcity, forgetting that we are always in the presence of the Abundant One. We believe that if we don’t manage and manipulate everything, we won’t get what we need or want, as if God’s goodness and resources were ever finite. We focus on our limitations—not enough time, talent, or treasure—and lose sight of the One who transcends limitations.
This doesn’t mean the Halloween candy won’t run out. But it is an invitation to lean on the power of God through prayer.
What have you been called to do in this season? Raising littles? Going back to school? Glorifying God in your workplace? Homeschooling? Caring for an aging parent?
Maybe you, too, look around and think: I don’t have enough. I can’t do this.
I love what Alan Fadling reminds us in his book, An Unhurried Leader:
“Since God has given us Jesus, we can be absolutely confident that God will withhold nothing that would help us live in him, walk with him, serve him, and remain rooted in his kingdom.”
Where do you need God’s abundance in your life today? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Something I wrote: Becoming Like Jesus: 3 Ways to Cultivate a Heart of Welcome. Hospitality is more about welcoming than entertaining, and that safe place of welcome can be our very selves. Three spiritual practices can help us become a more welcoming person: slowing, listening, and intellectual humility.
Something I read and loved: Trick or Treat: Three Reminders When God’s Blessings Feel Painful by Shawna Sullivan. I love her honest wrestling with God when we don’t understand God’s ways. Lots of wisdom in her suggestions at the end of the piece!
Something I listened to: David Brooks: How to Really Know Someone on the Everything Happens Podcast. Are you an illuminator or a diminisher? I enjoyed this conversation all about connection, and the skills we need to truly see someone else, as well as the joy of being known.
Something I’m cooking: Fourteen years ago, when we were traveling through Europe on a road trip with my parents, we stopped in Slovakia and had the most amazing bowl of garlic soup, ever. We still reminisce about that one bowl of soup! There’s no way I can recreate it, but I’m looking forward to trying this Garlic Chickpea soup now that the weather has gotten a *bit* colder here in San Diego.
I can already feel the holiday season knocking at my door. Every year I tell myself that I’m going to do better with managing my own stress and overwhelm! There are five things I’ve learned that have helped me have a less-stressful and more intentional holiday season which I’ve shared in this post. There’s also a bonus freebie planner included (pictured above) which you can grab in the Free for You section!
Until next time,
This is such a good reminder to not act from our scarcity mindset.
I need God’s abundance and the grace to trust that He will continue to supply our needs, even when the budget just won’t balance!